This is the year of the cottontail

PHOENIX – Oil up your favorite .22 and dig out that trusty old .410, this is the year of the rabbit in Arizona, and you can enjoy plenty of other small game hunting opportunities as well.

“Cottontails provide excellent fare for the hunter’s table, a light delicate meat that tastes absolutely nothing like chicken; it’s better,” says Mark Zornes, small game biologist for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
  
Cottontails were abundant last year in much of Arizona, and the state experienced additional population increases this summer, especially in central and western Arizona, thanks to all the summer rains and the resulting vegetative growth.

For in-depth information on rabbits or other small game animals, including unit-by-unit outlooks, visit the department’s Web site at azgfd.gov.

Cottontail rabbits

Arizona’s rabbit season is year-round. Desert washes, canyons and brushy hillsides provide good places to hunt cottontails.
  
“Take some kid hunting, or make like a kid yourself and go bag some cottontails. It’s a lot of fun and also a great way for youngsters and adults to hone their hunting skills,” Zornes recommends.

Be sure to take along binoculars.

“Walk along the edge of washes and occasionally stop, stay quiet, and use the binoculars to search for cottontails hiding in the shady areas under brush. When you find them, you can also practice executing a stalk. Do this a dozen times in a single day, and you will rapidly refine your hunting skills, or those of your youngster,” says Zornes.

Dove, quail and waterfowl hunters should all consider adding cottontails to the mix this year – it’s a great way to maximize your recreational dollars, time in the field, and good fare for the table.

Try using a .22-caliber rifle for the rabbits rather than a shotgun. Attaching a decent telescopic site to the rifle also provides young hunters (and older ones, too) with the opportunity to become proficient at sighting in on their targets. Also, take along monopods or other portable shooting rests so the youth (or others) can learn to shoot more accurately and have better shot placement.

Tree Squirrels

This will also be a good year to hunt tree squirrels in the White Mountains, along the Mogollon Rim or on the Kaibab Plateau during the Oct. 13 to Nov. 26 season.

Most people may not be aware, but Arizona has more species of tree squirrels than any other state. Consider a hunt for the Arizona big five – Abert’s, Kaibab, Arizona gray, Chiricahua fox and red squirrels.

The tree squirrel outlook on much of the Coconino National Forest west of the Mogollon Rim and the forested areas below the Mogollon Rim are less favorable for squirrels, and hunters can expect only fair hunting at best but there are pockets worth hunting.

“With all the moisture the high country received and the resulting mushroom and berry crops along the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains, hunters should see fat, healthy tree squirrels. Take along the fishing poles for trout, and your family can have a terrific autumn experience in the mountains,” Zornes says.

Randy Babb, a department biologist and avid squirrel hunter, recommends getting out early in the morning and quietly walking along logging roads while searching for squirrels on the ground and in the trees.

“Once a squirrel is spotted, it may be shot on the ground or in a tree. Chasing squirrels up trees at 7,000 feet elevation is more work than it sounds,” says Babb.

Babb suggests using a .22-caliber rifle for squirrels, instead of a shotgun. “It’s a lot more fun, and you don't have to worry about shot at dinner time. Bring a pair of binoculars to help you to spot squirrels in treetops.”

Attaching a decent telescopic site to the .22 provides the opportunity to become proficient at sighting in on targets, especially rapidly moving ones.

Abert’s squirrels, also known as tassel-eared squirrels, spend a lot of time on the ground foraging for mushrooms in the fall and are likely to be seen there.

Gray squirrels prefer riparian corridors of sycamore, walnut and ash.  “The canyons under the Mogollon Rim are good places to try for gray squirrels, and you'll probably pick up some Abert's, too. They are a bit harder to come by and can make for a challenging hunt,” Babb says.

Red squirrels are found in spruce/fir habitat in the higher elevations and are most easily found by listening for their "wurring" call.  Red squirrels also store cones in middens, which are large cone debris piles. If you find a midden with signs of freshly eaten cones, a red squirrel might be close by and is probably getting ready to chatter at you.

Doves

Another small-game bright spot for Arizona this year is the dove hunting. Quite simply, Arizona has the best dove hunting in the nation.

The early season is Sept. 1-15. The late season is Nov. 24-Jan. 7. The late season has gained in popularity the past several years, and with good reason: the shooting opportunities are good, the weather is cooler, and you can hunt the afternoons rather than getting up before dawn; some say it’s a gentleman’s hunt.

The abundant summer rains have altered the dove-hunting picture, especially in central Arizona. The good seed crops and available water sources in the desert should result in hunters having more dispersed opportunities for mourning doves. Hunters should still expect to see decent concentrations of doves in the agricultural areas, especially white-winged doves. Keep in mind that by the late season, white wings will have migrated south.

Don’t forget that the bag limit is 10 mourning and white-winged doves per day in the aggregate, of which no more than six may be white-winged doves. In the southern zone, adult dove hunters are relegated to half-day hunting (mornings), while youth can hunt all day during the early season.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department also offers something new this year: Eurasian collared doves have been included in the regulations with a season and bag limit. The bag limit is set at 25 per day. Eurasian collared doves are larger than both the native white-winged and mourning doves. These exotic invaders have a black collar on the top part of the next, pale gray coloration, and dark primary feathers. These doves are an introduced species to this hemisphere and have recently expanded their range into Arizona.

Originally native on the Indian subcontinent, Eurasian collared doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s and quickly spread to Florida. Since then, they have moved westward into Arizona.

Gambel’s Quail

Hunters should not expect a repeat of last year’s terrific hunting for Gambel’s, although hunting opportunities should be better than in 2004.

Arizona experienced a record dry winter and had only moderate rain in spring. Gambel’s quail reproduction in spring was only marginal in most areas. However, the excellent summer rains did result in some late hatches.

Gambel’s surveys in July show some areas had fair quail reproduction with five to seven young per brood. 

“Don’t expect an abundance of young birds, or you’ll be disappointed. During the early part of the season, hunters may see some very small birds due to the late hatches. Since these small birds produce little meat, it is a good idea to let these birds mature before harvesting them,” Zornes says.

Some of the best Gambel’s quail hunting this year will likely be found in the hill country stretching from Wickenburg to Kingman and in river bottoms and agricultural areas in southwest Arizona. Those areas were also quail-hunting hot spots last year.

Drainages, such as the Santa Maria and Big Sandy and their associated uplands, will likely hold decent numbers of Gambel’s quail. Reproduction in those areas looks a little more favorable than in some other parts of the state, but you may have to hike some to find the best hunting.

This is definitely the year to try a multi-bag expedition to desert water tanks for quail, rabbits, waterfowl and in the late season, doves. The desert green up during the summer should make such trips interesting.

Scaled quail (southern Arizona)

In southern Arizona, hunters should expect poor hunting for scaled quail: southern Arizona had a dry winter and spring.

“Conditions were abysmal for early scaled quail reproduction. Scaled quail have the ability to delay reproduction until conditions are better, so some reproduction likely occurred during the monsoon rains this summer. Gambel’s quail reproduction in the southeast was likely nearly nonexistent,” says Zornes. “Getting in a successful triple species hunt (Gambel’s, scaled and Mearns’) this year will be extremely tough.”

Mearns’ quail

The Mearns’ quail season is Nov. 24 through Feb. 12.

Mearns’ quail nest in late summer, so their reproduction is dependent on the summer rains. Southern Arizona had an exceptionally wet summer for a change. The outlook for Mearns’ is pretty good, and some areas could have excellent hunting opportunities.  However, in spots, torrential rains may have inhibited nesting or resulted in juvenile mortality.

Chukar partridge

Arizona has limited chukar partridge opportunities for the Sept. 15-Feb. 12 season.

Chukar are found mostly in the Arizona Strip area, the Paria Plateau and Vermilion Cliffs. Chukars can also be found in a few locations south of the Grand Canyon.

“Chukars inhabit extremely rough country that’ll put any hunter to the test. There is an old adage that a person hunts chukar the first time out of desire and the second time for revenge. That is especially true here in Arizona,” Zornes says.

Blue grouse

Arizona has only limited and spotty populations of blue grouse for the Sept. 15-Nov. 26 season, and this is not promising to be one of the better years.

Grouse are typically found in the high elevations that have spruce and mixed-conifer habitats, such as on the San Francisco Peaks, Mt. Baldy, Escudilla Mountain and Hannigan Meadow areas.  This year, the better blue grouse hunting will likely occur on the Kaibab Plateau.

“There is a small cadre of dedicated grouse hunters in the state. The rest typically take the opportunity to bag one of these birds while hunting other species, such as squirrels, fall turkeys or archery deer,” says Zornes.